A Flying Escape
by Leveragenie of 221B
Summary: Arthur's love of flying takes a detour when he discovers MJN's next flight is to Perth where he knows his dad is bases
1. Chapter 1

"OK listen up, we only have one flight this week and it's on Thursday" announced Carolyn the CEO of MJN Air.

"Ooh where are we going this time?" asked her son Arthur the airdot's steward as Carolyn says you cannot put one jet in a line.

"Well the good news is that it's a cargo flight to Australia, which means no passengers for Arthur to scare and I won't be stuck in a metal tube with the three of you for an entire day" said Carolyn a smile spreading across her face as she did.

"You mean we get to spend a whole day up in the air flying?" asked Arthur with more enthusiasm than is necessary for a twenty nine year old man.

"Actually, Arthur we will need to stop off somewhere along the way to refuel and also so that Douglas and I can have a rest" answered Martin the Captain of the aircraft although nobody ever believes him, even if he is wearing his uniform, heck people still probably wouldn't believe him if he had "captain" written across his for head in lip stick.

"Oh right skip" said Arthur, who in all honestly was a little disappointed to hear this, ever since his mum had divorced his dad and got G-ERTI, Arthur loved to fly, it offered him a means of escape from his past it's not that his dad ever hit him or anything, he just wasn't a very nice person always putting him down, saying how he'd never accomplish anything. Oh well thought Arthur, Australia is a long way away, so it's still a long time flying, not forgetting it was also a cargo flight which meant that Martin or Douglas would do an interesting Cabin address, and if they had to stop off halfway through that meant two of them, four including the journey back to Fitton.

"And what precious cargo do we have the pleasure of flying all the way to Australia?" asked Douglas the first officer of the plane. He was also almost twice Martin's age and twice the pilot unfortunately however, his "trading" had gotten him fired from Air England, so no other company would hire him (and for MJN the term was debatable). The reason he wasn't captain of MJN Air was because unlike Martin, he was not willing to work for free.

"Well you remember Abu Dhabi?" asked Carolyn knowing full well they did. "Well it's like that only this time the client is not an oil merchant and neither luckily does he have a cat" finished Carolyn.

"Ah yes Abu Dhabi, how could we ever forget that?" replied Douglas

"Yes, well even for you three, killing a client's cat is unusual, although I can't say I was one hundred per cent surprised to find out you had, the three of you do love to make my job difficult don't you?" said Carolyn

"It's not that we enjoy it, it's just that sometimes these things happen" said Martin, who was shocked at his own boldness.

"Yes well, you remember the condition for the flight to Abu Dhabi?" Carolyn asked her two pilots, again knowing full well that they did.

"Of course 'you are going cheap. You will fly the most no-frills, most cost effective plane it is possible to fly. You will make easy jet look like Air Force One" recited Douglas smugly.

"Precisely, which is why your refuelling stop is Kazakhstan, it's cheap, unbelievably so, I almost jumped for joy when I found out just how much so" replied Carolyn just as smugly.

"There is a very good reason for this Carolyn, namely the mafia, who like to steal the fuel to sell on the black market." Said Douglas

"Well then don't annoy the mafia" replied Carolyn, thankful that she didn't have to fly to Australia via Kazakhstan.

If there was one thing Martin Crieff loved it was flying, so when Carolyn had told them they only had one flight that week he'd been rather disappointed although he had cheered up a bit when she told them, that it's a cargo flight to Australia. The reason Martin loved to fly was because it offered a means of escape from his past which was filled with hate and abuse, and also from his present where he was forced to live in an attic in a house he shares with students from the local college. Flying was the one thing he wanted to do his entire life, and even though it had taken him seven attempts he finally passed his CPL exam, however, because it had taken him so long nobody would hire him, which is why he had ended up working for Carolyn for free, this in turn was the reason during his time off from MJN he worked as a man with a van.

"Ah filling out the flight plan for Perth I see" said Douglas as he walked into the office he shared with Martin.

"Yes and don't worry I'll do your paperwork as well. We both know that you'll suggest a bet, I'll lose it and end up doing it all, this way just saves time" replied Martin exasperatedly, fed up of his unbelievable run of bad luck.

"Well thank you Martin" said Douglas.

"You're welcome" replied Martin. As the sound of a mug breaking filled the air.

"Fourth time this month?" asked Martin

"Fifth actually" answered Douglas

"You know what amazes me" said Martin

"And what would that be then, Sir?" asked Douglas who was trying to sound more interested then he actually was.

"The fact that Arthur is so clumsy when we're down in the ground and yet when we're up in the air he's perfectly fine, well apart from you know the whole Arthur thing" answered Martin, knowing that Douglas probably didn't care.

"Actually, now you come to mention it I've noticed it as well" replied Douglas.

With that the two pilots went to help Arthur clear up yet another cup of broken coffee.

Arthur loved MJN Air, being a steward, the pilots even if they did tease him at times they were never mean or horrible to him, but the one thing Arthur especially loved about MJN was all the flying he got to do, to places he would have never have known existed otherwise.

There was another reason why Arthur Shappey loved to fly so much especially on board G-ERTI, and that was because his mum had gotten the plane when she divorced his dad, it meant that they no longer had to rely on him, or deal with the way he liked to control his mum or him. His dad had always wanted him to take over his company one day, but Arthur knew this was never going to happen, he much preferred being around people and helping them, then being all on his own at the top of a company, and to be honest he'd be bored as well.

So at age fifteen Arthur Shappey finally, plucked up the courage to tell his dad and by the end of the week his mum was filing for divorce knowing that her husband wouldn't let her son have his own way and not take over the business one day. It was also why the only thing she had insisted on in the divorce was the airplane, she was determined that she would help her son become an airline steward and prove her piece of work of an ex-husband wrong.

The only problem that Arthur had with flying to Australia was that that's where his dad lived so there was every possibility that they'd run into him at whichever airport they would be flying to.

Of course Arthur hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing, and was bought back to the present by the sound of a mug breaking. Not again he thought, they weren't even halfway through March and that was the fifth he had broken, and right on queue Douglas and Martin came into the little kitchenette in the Port cabin.

"Hi, chaps, sorry about that. I was thinking about the flight to Australia and well…" Arthur explained

"We see" replied Douglas

"Need a hand clearing up, Arthur?" asked Martin

"Yes please Skip, dust pan and brush are in the cupboard" answered Arthur cheerily

"OK I'll sweep up the mug, Arthur get the mop an clear the coffee up, and Douglas can you please go and inform Carolyn that we're down to two mugs" Martin said, this wasn't the first time they had had to clear up after Arthur had broken something, in fact pretty early on in his career with MJN Martin had learnt not to let Arthur clear up any sharp objects and that it was usually better if Douglas was the one to tell Carolyn.

"Of course Sir" said Douglas sarcastically, Martin however, knew that Douglas was more than happy with his role in Operation Clear Up as he didn't have to do any manual labour, heaven forbid that Douglas would ever have to anything of the sort.

"Skip?" Arthur asked once Douglas had left.

"What is it Arthur?" Martin replied as he finished putting the broken mug in the bin.

"Well you see the thing is umm…I was just wandering which part of Australia we would be flying to?" he asked

"Oh Perth, why do you ask, I thought you liked finding out at the last minute with these cargo flights" answered Martin

"Well you know it's like they say 'curiosity killed the cat'" replied Arthur, knowing this was only half of the truth and now he had to hide the fact that actually he wasn't looking forward to the flight to Perth, last time he had spoken to his dad, that was where he had been based and that was only a few months back, so there was every possibility of running into him.

"Yes, as apparently do pilots who forget to turn the heating on in the hold" joked Martin.

"What is it we're playing?" asked Douglas as he joined the Captain and the Stewart

"Oh no we're not playing anything, Arthur here was just wandering where about in Australia we'll be flying to tomorrow" answered Martin

"Ah I see, well I've talked to Carolyn, who has decided to take the cost of replacing the mugs out of my wages, which I hardly think is fair" Douglas said clearly unhappy that he was the one losing out on pay due to Arthur's clumsiness.

"Douglas you know full well that Arthur and I don't get paid, seeing as though Arthur lives with Carolyn and she can't afford to pay me because she has to pay you" replied Martin who in all honesty would love the opportunity to be able to afford to pay to replace the mugs that Arthur had broken.

"Alright fair enough" Douglas replied. "And by the way the lemon is in play"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Pre-take off checks complete?" Martin asked Douglas, trying to hide how annoyed he was that the first officer had turned up an hour and a half late. "Pre-take off checks complete, Captain" Douglas answered, knowing full well this was not the time to joke. "Alright then" Martin said, as he turned on the intercom. Douglas took the announcement "Those travelling with MJN Air today should be advised that we are about to embark upon our flight to Australia. Or what will be two pilot's trying to get a plane that is more or less held together by gaffer tape to the other side of the world, please do wish us luck"

They had been up in the air for about an hour when Arthur walked into the flight deck. "Um chaps" he said uncertainly. "Is there anything wrong Arthur?" Martin asked, knowing that it had to be serious if Arthur, was looking this pale and worried. "Can I talk to you, in the galley for a moment please skip? Arthur asked him. There was no way Martin was going to say no, not when Arthur was looking so scared. "Douglas" he said. "It's fine Martin, I have control" Douglas replied.

Martin followed Arthur out of the flight deck, and into the galley, growing ever more curious. "You remember my Dad, Skip?" Arthur asked him. How could he not, Martin thought. The first time he had met the man he had tried to steal Gerti from them after the plane had, had an argument with a bird, and lost. Gordon Shappey was not a man Martin would forget anytime soon. "Unfortunately I do yes" he replied. Starting to get an idea what had gotten Arthur all worked up. His father was Australian after all, the place they were flying to. "Well the thing is Skip, I spoke to my dad a couple of months back, a few weeks after what happened in St Petersburg" Arthur began. Oh this can't be good Martin thought. "Go, on" he urged Arthur. "When I spoke to him, well he did most of the talking. Anyway, he said that for the foreseeable future he was based in Perth, and that under no circumstances were MJN to go there, after the St Petersburg fiasco" Arthur explained. "Arthur, why didn't you say anything sooner" he asked trying not to sound angry, he knew how sensitive Arthur was when it came to his dad, he was the same when it came to his. "I…" Arthur began, struggling to explain why it had taken him this long to say anything. "It's alright Arthur" he said, as he placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

All of a sudden Arthur took a step towards him, wrapping his arms around his middle as he began to cry. At first Martin was unsure what to do; he wasn't used to people crying on him. After a few seconds he decided to wrap his arms around Arthur to try and comfort him. Arthur buried his head in his shoulder, clearly in need of the contact. "It's alright Arthur" he said again, and again hoping to make the other man feel better. They stood like that for some time neither noticing how much time had passed.

They were finally broken apart by the sound of Douglas over the intercom. "I have no desire to know what you two were doing back there for so long, but Martin I need you up here so we can land" Douglas said. "Be there in a minute Douglas" Martin answered, as Arthur finally let go of him. "Arthur" he said. "It'll be alright, but you have to let me tell the others about this, OK?" he asked, thinking it didn't matter what Arthur said, he had to tell Carolyn and Douglas about this, the four of them worked better as a team after all. After a minute or so Arthur gave a nod of his head. And with that Martin gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile and walked back into the flight deck.

"Um Douglas…" Martin began as he walked into the flight deck. "Martin, I am currently operating under a need to know basis. And what you and Arthur were doing back there in the galley for so long is definitely on the list of things I will never need, or want to know" Douglas replied, as Martin took his seat to prepare for the landing.

"You saw how Arthur looked when he came in here earlier Douglas, do you really think we did anything of the sort?" Martin asked Douglas, who sensed the seriousness in the Captain's voice.

"No sorry of course not, is everything alright?" he asked. Just about as Martin was about to tell Douglas he would tell him once they landed, ATC came on "Golf-Tango-India, you are clear to land on runway 03 north, and be advised there is a crosswind of 15 knots" ATC informed them. "Roger that Aktobe, starting preparations for decent" Martin replied. "You still happy to take the landing Douglas or would you like me to?" Martin asked the first officer. "Well, Sir seeing as though I've been flying this plane by myself for the fast five hours, I rather think it's time you had a turn, don't you?" Douglas replied, and Martin couldn't say he was entirely surprised by the response. "Sure, look Douglas sorry about leaving you up here on your own for so long" he apologised. As he began the landing procedures. "It's fine really Martin" Douglas said. "Listen I'll tell you what Arthur said once we've landed" Martin promised.

Half an hour later Martin and Douglas were walking back from the airport manager's office, who had insisted they settled the bill the moment they had landed, but luckily it didn't appear as though any sort of mafia were operating here so that was something. However, because of the airport manager's eagerness for them to pay the bill and get on their way as soon as it was legal for them to do so Martin had not yet had the chance to explain to Douglas what was going on.

"Douglas, we have a problem…" Martin began. "A you forgot to put the cat out sort of a problem, or an Arthur's been doing the catering again sort of a problem?" Douglas asked, hoping to a deity he didn't believe in that it was not the latter. Not after surprising rice, which was surprising for all the wrong reasons. "Neither I'm afraid. Worse in fact" replied the Captain.

This got him interested, interested and worried, very worried. What on earth could be worse than Arthur doing the catering? "Oh this can't be good, worse than the possibility of surprising rice has to mean we've got a code red on our hands" Douglas replied, who's curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

"Well yeah I'm afraid so" Martin said. "It's probably best if I start at the beginning" he said, clearly wanting Douglas to be fully aware of the situation. "By all means Sir" Douglas said, gesturing for Martin to sit down in his seat. Martin did so, motioning for Douglas to do the same.

"You remember what happened in St Petersburg?" Martin asked him. Douglas thought this was a stupid question, of all the interesting and eventful trips he had whilst with MJN that was definitely up there in the top three, not therefore one he was likely to forget. However, he decided not to say this, instead he simply said "Of course".

Martin took a breath and began to speak again. "A few weeks after what happened in St Petersburg, Arthur received a phone call from his dad" Martin explained. "Ah" Douglas said an idea as to where this was going forming in his head. "And, what did the delightful Mr Shappey have to say?" he asked, with the sarcasm in his voice blatantly clear.

"Well the delightful Mr Shappey, informed young Arthur that he was now based in Perth, and that under no circumstances were MJN to go there" Martin explained to Douglas. Douglas knew that even though he liked to think it Gordon Shappey did not have the power to stop them from flying to Perth. However, he also knew the effect it would have on Arthur if they ran into the man.

"I know he can't stop us flying there, but at the same time…" Martin began to say. "Hmm I was just thinking the same thing. Curious that, I thought it was only great minds that thought alike" he mused. "Now is not the time for jokes Douglas, this is serious. A code red, as you say. We have to fly to Perth but we cannot let him near Arthur or Gerti for that matter. Carolyn would kill us. Violently and without hesitation" Martin said, clearly scared by their situation, and of Carolyn. And with good reason Douglas thought, if they let either of the two happen Carolyn would indeed kill them.

"Of course" he said in all seriousness. "We just have to keep him away from Arthur, and Gerti." Knowing this would be easier said than done. Gerti may be small, but she was not the most inconspicuous of airplanes. "We better sat-com Carolyn, she won't be happy if we keep her in the dark about this" Martin said. Clearly worried about the prospect of what would happen when they did, and even more so of if they didn't.

"What have you two done this time!? I know you haven't killed the client's pet seeing as though they don't have one" Came Carolyn's voice over the radio before they had the chance to say hello. "We haven't done anything, besides that was an accident, and this is worse, much worse" Martin replied. The tone in Carolyn's voice changed instantly to one of concern. "Are you all alright, you haven't had another argument with a bird, now?" She asked them. Douglas knew that Carolyn despite her tough exterior did in fact care for her two pilots. Douglas decided to cut straight to the chase and put Carolyn out of her misery.

"Carolyn, a couple of months back Arthur got a phone call from his Dad" he began to explain. Again, Carolyn's tone changes instantly this time it was a mix of both concern, and of anger. "What!? Why didn't he say anything before?" she asked the two pilots, obviously concerned for her son. Douglas gave a nod to Martin knowing that in this one circumstance he could explain it better. "I don't know" said Martin. "But when I spoke to him about it earlier he was terrified, and wouldn't let me go" Martin started to explain. "When you say wouldn't let you go, what exactly do you mean?" Carolyn asked, not caring as much as she would normally have done, knowing how scared Arthur must have been. "What Sir means is that an hour into our flight to the actually as it turns out rather lovely Kazakhstani airport, Arthur asked for a word with Martin in private, and literally did not release his hold on him until five hours later, when I had to ask Martin up to take the landing. After flying solo for five hours" he explained to her, knowing full well how very illegal it was for him to have flown alone for so long. "Dear Lord, what on earth did he say? Don't make me say his name, it must have been pretty bad for Arthur to have reacted like that" Carolyn said her concern, as well as her anger growing.

Arthur, whom they knew had been listening at the door, chose that moment to walk in and join them. "Mum" Arthur began, his voice shaking. "Yes, Arthur, why didn't you tell me before your dad called you?" she asked him. "Because…h…he…told…me…not…to" Arthur stuttered. In that moment Martin didn't care what Douglas, or Carolyn for that matter thought, he got up and pulled Arthur towards him, and moved the two of them until Arthur was sat in his lap, his head once again buried into Martin's shoulder. Douglas took this as a cue to finish telling Carolyn what else Mr Shappey had said to Arthur. "Carolyn, he told Arthur that he is now based in Perth, and that under no circumstances were MJN to go there" Douglas explained, preparing himself for the tirade that was bound to happen. And happen it did.

"How dare he! He doesn't have the authority to stop us landing in Perth! Or anywhere for that matter! Nor in fact does he have the right to speak to Arthur like that! I cannot believe that man!" she ranted loudly into the radio.

"Carolyn please, I know your angry, but could you please lower your voice Arthur's here sitting in my lap, and I've never seen anybody more terrified then he is right now" Martin said. "Oh my, I'm so sorry Arthur I didn't think" she apologised. "It's alright, mum" came Arthur's timid response.

"Right now that's out of my system. Let's get down to business. Now unfortunately seeing as I thought you were only doing a refuelling stop in Kazakhstan I haven't booked you into any accommodation, and seeing as though Douglas flew solo for five hours it won't be legal for you to fly again until tomorrow morning so you'll have to sleep in the plane" she informed them. Not that they minded the plane was infinitely better than the Gariboldi, nightmares of which still haunt their dreams.

"Of course" said Martin, as he shifted Arthur's weight so they were both a little more comfortable. "Carolyn" Douglas began. "Yes, Douglas?" she asked. "We've already decided to go ahead and land in Perth and not use our alternate, we cannot let him bully us. We just have to make sure he doesn't get near Arthur, or Gerti. Although I fear that's easier said than done" he told her.

"Of course not" Carolyn agreed. "Don't leave Arthur on his own either, promise me that. If you lose Gerti, but have a way to get home then that's all I care about, just don't leave Arthur alone" she said her voice desperate.

"We promise, Carolyn" answered Martin, his voice determined not to let her down.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Later that night Arthur still hadn't released Martin so in the end, Douglas had a row of four seats and a blanket to himself whilst Arthur and Martin shared another row, and luckily a larger blanket to accommodate the pair of them. They had lifted, up the armrests and Arthur had instantly settled into Martin's side, who would be lying if he said he minded, because in all honesty he didn't. This may be new to him, but he found he liked it, it felt right somehow.

Martin watched as Douglas fell asleep first clearly more tired than he had let on. He was closely followed by Arthur who fell asleep with his arm's wrapped around Martin and his head on his shoulder. Eventually Martin too fell asleep, one of his arms wrapped around Arthur's back, the other around his middle, he didn't know why but he felt an urge to protect Arthur, and at the moment this was the best way he could think of doing so.

The next morning Douglas was the first to awake, to a sight he would not soon forget. Arthur and Martin wrapped around each other in such a way it was difficult to tell who, was who. Douglas wished he could let the two stay like that, and fly by himself. Alas, even Douglas who wasn't exactly known as a stickler for rules wasn't about to fly fifteen hours straight by himself. Not wanting to scare them, but wanting to wake them up, Douglas decided to go for the old clearing the throat trick.

"Ahem" he went nothing. Douglas tried again, deciding against waking the pair up by taking off. This time Martin was awake straight away, but clearly in need of his morning coffee.

"Ugh, what time is it Douglas?" Martin asked as he moved to wake Arthur up.

"Just after eight" came his reply, just as Arthur began to rub his eyes. "Oh no, we've overslept." Martin said panicked. "Martin it's fine, we've still got over an hour take-off, and we're already here. Besides yesterday was a long day." Douglas reassured the Captain.

With that Martin got up stretching out his limbs, which were stiff as a board, having spent the night sleeping with Arthur curled around him. "Coffee, Douglas? Tea, Arthur?" Martin offered. "Coffee would be great, thank you. Martin" came his reply. Fully aware of why Martin hadn't asked Arthur if he wanted coffee, coffee equalled caffeine, and caffeine plus Arthur equalled not good.

Martin began to prepare the drinks, as Arthur looked around the galley for something the three of them could eat for breakfast. Although luckily this time Carolyn hadn't skimped on the catering, not wanting to risk both her pilots getting food poisoning in two different ways.

"Aha brilliant, Cheerios!" exclaimed Arthur. Sounding happier than he had last night, although Martin knew this wouldn't last once they got airborne again.

"Listen Arthur" Martin began, Arthur turned towards him. "I made your mum a promise I wouldn't leave you alone on this flight, and I won't, OK. You can stay up in the flight deck with Douglas and I" he said to the Steward. Arthur gave a small smile and nodded his head in thanks.

"OK I've spoken to the airport manager, who thought we had left already, without clearance of all things. I mean I know we don't always stick to the manual but still. There must be some sort of ATC Chinese whispers and a version of our little escapade in Douz found its way here" Douglas announced as he joined the other two in the galley. Laughing at the memory of driving a plane across the dessert.

"Really?" asked Martin, who couldn't say he was all that surprised by the news that MJN's actions were shared among the ATCs of the world. They weren't exactly the easiest to deal with.

Arthur handed them each a bowl of cheerios, before making a bowl for himself as he whistled the tune of we're busy doing nothing, which Martin could just about recognise. Martin decided that instead of telling Arthur that he couldn't whistle started to sing.

"We're busy doing nothing…" at that point Douglas took the hint and joined him

"Working the whole day through" sang the two pilots. Arthur then joined them

"Trying to find lots of things not to.

We're busy going no where

Isn't it just a crime?

We'd like to be unhappy.

But we never do have the time"

The three of them finished the song in his own way, which prompted them to burst out laughing just as ATC came on the radio. "Golf Tango India, your plane is now full of fuel. Please taxi to your nearest runway, and wait for clearance for take-off. I will not have you doing a Douz on me" he said, sounding as though he was speaking to a group of five year olds.

"How many times do I have to go over this Al, we did not take-off from Douz without clearance. We merely taxied down twenty miles of dessert road to Kebili" Douglas explained clearly exasperated. Although if Martin was honest he would have believed it either if he hadn't of been there.

"Thank you Al, taxiing to runway 02 east now" Martin said. Shaking his head at Douglas, who gave a confused look to the other man. Martin didn't say anything instead he gestured his head towards Arthur who was sat in the seat behind Douglas'. Douglas gave a nod in understanding, both of them knowing they had to keep Arthur's spirits up.

Fifteen minutes and a patronising ATC later, which frankly had made Arthur curl up into a ball during take-off they were finally up in the air for the journey to Australia, and despite the fact that they were all in the flight deck Martin picked up the intercom for the Cabin address.

"Ladies and Gentleman" he began Arthur looked up, so he continued "We would like to take this opportunity to tell you that, if a piece of equipment should fall off then not to worry. Just inform a member of the crew and he shall repair it. However, if that piece of equipment so happens to be a wing take your seat, scream at the top of your lungs, place the oxygen mask over your face, and pray" Martin finished.

"One of your best I dare say" complimented Douglas "Hmm thank you. Ok who's up for a game of movies or books that sound better with the last letter knocked off?" Martin asked, for once not caring that he would lose.

"Oh umm…Iron Ma" said Arthur starting the game of. "Actually Arthur that was quite a good one" he said. "Yes" agreed Douglas. "How about…? The Woman in Scarle…?" Douglas said.

"Oh very good, very good indeed" Martin said. Which earned him a look of 'and you're surprised because…?' Choosing to ignore him Martin took his turn "In Search of Lost Tim" he said with confidence, one of the students had let him borrow her laptop so he could get some more ideas.

"Wonders never cease it would seem" exclaimed Douglas

The game continued for a few more hours, until Martin once again gave Douglas control do that he and Arthur could go and get their lunch, he had made a promise to Carolyn, and he would be damned if he didn't keep it. Noticing that Arthur was starting to look scared again, Martin walked towards him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's OK Arthur I'm here" he said. "I know Skip" replied Arthur as he made to hug him, Martin let him. They stood there for half an hour with Martin promising Arthur he wouldn't leave his side whilst they were in Perth, and that if they did run into his dad then Douglas would deal with him. Arthur looked up at Martin, with trust and slowly moved to place his lips against the pilots. At first Martin froze in shock. Arthur began to move his lips against Martin's, who finally responded, wrapping his arms tighter around Arthur not wanting to stop, but not wanting to go any further, just wishing to stay like this for as long as possible.

Eventually the two went back to the flight deck with the sandwiches, to be greeted by Douglas who simply told them it was fine. Martin informed Douglas of his promise to Arthur that if they ran into his Dad, then Douglas would deal with him. Who had persuaded that as much as they would have liked him to he couldn't do anything illegal, killing him for example was out of the question. Although it was a tempting thought, and they were pretty sure Carolyn wouldn't mind.

As the flight went on it became increasingly difficult to keep Arthur's mood up, he even refused the opportunity to play charades, which was worrying, Arthur never passed up the opportunity to play charades. "Arthur, what are you doing?" Douglas asked him. "Oh, nothing" came Arthur's reply who had moved to sit between the two pilots, a few minutes before. Martin of course had noticed, but instead of telling Arthur he couldn't stay sat there on the floor simply held Arthur's had or touched his shoulder whenever possible. This Douglas noticed "Well it would appear Carolyn owes me twenty quid" he said smugly.

A few hours later Australian ATC came onto the radio. "Golf-Tango-India this is Perth ATC, you are clear to land on runway 01 North. Wind speed is 15 knots." came the transmission. "Roger that ATC, we begin to make our approach" Douglas replied. Arthur and Martin had already left the flight deck to sit together during the landing, which Douglas had agreed to take despite having done the bulk of flying.

"Chaps, we'll be landing in a minute. You better strap in, the old girl's just flown fifteen hours straight, heaven knows how, but she has." Douglas announced.

"OK thank you, Douglas" replied Martin, only letting go of Arthur's hand long enough for the two of them to do their seatbelts up. "Remember, what I promised you Arthur?" Martin asked. Arthur nodded his head slowly as Martin placed a kiss on his fore head. "Good, OK. Let's see how Gerti handles this"

As it turned out Douglas managed to land the plane first time, despite the whole wheels doing their jack in the box routine for the third time that year. It was rather funny actually, Douglas had turned on the intercom so they could hear the hysterical ATC issuing orders to the ground control, and clearly news of MJN hadn't reached Perth. There were worse circumstances they could have landed under after all.

Martin and Arthur went to help unload the plane, whilst Douglas went to the airport manager does office to sort out the bill and paper work, none of them want to stay there any longer then they had to. Unlike Abu Dhabi Carolyn hadn't booked them in to a hotel, just off the main road, he checked.

Just as the two of them were helping to unload the last of the boxes, they heard a voice which made them drop the box, causing the other two men to almost drop it completely, neither of them noticed as they turned around to see Gordon Shappey standing there.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Arthur! I thought I made it perfectly clear so that even an idiot like you could understand. Clearly 'MJN is not allowed to land in Perth' was not clear enough…" he shouted as Arthur made to move behind Martin. Who drew himself up to his full height. "Don't you dare speak to him like that!" Martin shouted, surprising the three of them with how loud he was, and drawing the attention of the nearby ground crew. "I will speak to him however, I dam well please!" responded Mr Shappey "How hard is it to understand do not fly to Perth, do not tell your mother about it!?" he continued. That's it Martin thought "With all due respect…!" The ground crew and Arthur looked on in shock as Martin swung his right fist to meet squarely with Mr Shappey's jaw, SMACK! For a few seconds silence descended upon the airfield, until Douglas who had saw what Martin had done walked towards them applauding, gradually everyone else joined them, clearly Mr Shappey wasn't popular, and everyone was to afraid of him to say anything. He walked away from them muttering to himself.

"Martin, I never knew you had it in you". Douglas said clearly in shock, by the usually timid Captain's actions. "No neither did I to be honest" he replied as Arthur made to hold his hand, Martin let him not caring what the people around them thought. "You were brilliant skip!" said Arthur "Wait until we tell Mum about this" he said excited at the prospect of watching his mum's reaction of the news.

"I'll have to bring my camera, her face will be quite the picture" Douglas said. The other two laughed in agreement. "Now then chaps, might I suggest the three of us make our way to the hotel" Douglas suggested. Martin and Arthur nodded their heads in agreement, and with that the three of them made their way to the awaiting taxi

Twenty minutes later the taxi sped away as soon as they had gotten their bags, not waiting for them to pay their bill. Although if Martin was honest he couldn't say he blamed him, the three of them had after all spent the entire journey arguing over who would tell Carolyn that Martin had punched Gordon. In the end they decided just to take it in turns, hoping that the fact that there were witnesses would make it more believable.

Douglas checked the three of them in, he would have a single room to himself whilst Martin and Arthur as was normal shared a double room. "Alright then chaps, meet back down here in half an hour for dinner then?" said Douglas as he gave them a slight wink. "Yeah sure thing Douglas" Martin replied as he moved to call for the lift up to their rooms, Arthur had only let go off his hand when it was absolutely necessary.

They stepped out of the lift to find that the room Martin and Arthur would be sharing was down the end of the corridor from Douglas'. "See you at dinner" Douglas said to the pair of them. Martin and Arthur each gave Douglas a nod as they walked towards their room.

As soon as Martin closed the door Arthur broke down, once again wrapping himself around Martin. "Hush, Arthur. It's Ok" he said, as he stroked his hand down Arthur's back. It took some time, but eventually Arthur calmed down long enough for Martin to ask him what had bought this on "It's…umm, what….you know…he…said…about…me…being…an…idiot" Arthur said as he began to cry again. Martin hated this, hated seeing Arthur so upset. It wasn't natural. "You're not an idiot Arthur, you're brilliant" Martin said as he kissed the tears falling down Arthur's cheeks. This seemed to calm Arthur down, who asked if they could move the two beds together. "Of course" said Martin "But can I ask why?" he asked. "Well you see the thing is Skip, when I know I might see him, or I do, I have a hard time falling asleep, and well last night in the plane was the best night's sleep I've got when I've known there was a high chance of seeing him. And I thought well…" Arthur explained. "It's OK Arthur I understand" said Martin, who was the one to initiate the kiss this time. "Hmm, brilliant" they both moaned at the same time as they continued to kiss. This time both of them were far more confident and began to run their hands through one another's hair.

The two of them separated long enough for them to push the beds together, after which they wouldn't leave each other's side touching whenever it was possible. They agreed to skip dinner, instead choosing to be alone, exploring one another's bodies as they led on their bed, kissing as they did so.

What on earth is taking them so long? Douglas thought as he sat by himself at a table for four, actually on second thoughts I have no desire to know what those two are doing, he thought giving himself a rather unpleasant mental picture in the process. Just as he was trying to shake off the thought that would likely give him nightmares for the next month at least, he heard a voice calling his name. "Why, I don't believe it if it isn't good old Douglas Richardson" the man said. "Hey less of the old thank you Adam" said Douglas who made to shake hands with a pilot he had flown with whilst at Air England. "So, what are you up to these days then Doug?" Adam asked him, Douglas chose to tell him the truth, he'd find out eventually anyway, and after all they'd been through he'd be lying if he said he was ashamed to work for MJN. "Oh, I'm the first officer of a small charter airline called MJN Air" he said proudly. "Really, I never thought you'd take the position of a first officer Douglas. Hmm MJN you say, can't say I've heard of it, does it stand for anything" Adam asked. "Well, when I say small what I mean is that there's one plane and four of us two pilots a steward and a CEO/ stewardess for the important clients" Douglas explained. "That's why I'm the first officer you see the owner can't afford to pay me a captain's fee, he works for free and as for the steward he's her son and they live together anyway so there's no point in him being paid. And as for the name, Carolyn, the CEO got the plane in her divorce settlement so MJN stands for My Jet Now" He explained, to Adam who's mouth began to open in shock. "Wow…that's umm…" he stuttered. "Yes isn't it just" Douglas said "Now what brings you to this part of the world?" Douglas asked him.

"It's a long story" Adam said. "Don't worry, I won't be missed" Douglas said trying not to think about what Arthur and Martin we're doing. "A couple of weeks back my crew and I were sent on a job here to Perth, much like you I ended up with a small charter airline, although not as small as yours I must say. Anyway the owners were never entirely honest with us about just how much financial trouble they were in, and when we got here they told us that they were out of money, and had to go into administration and couldn't afford the cost of flying us back to Blighty, so the three of us have been stuck here. Luckily the manager has been letting us do jobs around the hotel in lieu of payment this past week, but we can't stay here for ever" Adam said, clearly hoping that Douglas had a solution.

"Well my friend" Douglas said "It looks as though your luck's about to change", an idea forming in his head. Adam looked at him confused. "Our trip to Perth, has had rather an emotional effect on our steward Arthur who was confronted at the airport by his dad, who quite frankly is a jerk, and that's me putting it politely. Anyway ever since Arthur told us about the fact that his Dad said we couldn't come to Perth he and the captain Martin have become rather inseparable, I had to fly solo for five hours before our refuelling stop in Kazakhstan and although the three of us stayed in the flight deck for the rest of the journey, I still did most of the flying. So how about, you and your crew fly back with us, free of charge of course." Douglas offered. Adam thought it over for a minute before saying "What's the catch?" Douglas had known he would ask him this. "Oh well, to be honest I'm not overly fond of the idea of having another flight like that one, so how about your good self, your other pilot and I share the flying whilst your steward acts as the on board steward and my captain and steward can relax, it's been rather stressful for them" Douglas explained, hoping Adam would accept. "Well, to be honest at the moment I'm so desperate to get back I'd go by boat if I had no other choice, I honestly didn't think I'd get the chance to fly back, so yes I would appreciate flying back with MJN. I'll have to talk to the others of course, but I'm sure they'll be OK" he explained. The rest of Adam's crew who had been sitting a couple of tables away had managed to hear most of their conversation "Well I for one, would be glad to join you on your flight" said the man facing Douglas. "Ah Douglas my first officer Ben Robbins, Ben this is Douglas Richardson, from my days at Air England" said Adam making the introductions "Nice to meet you" they both said as the shook hands. "And this is Roger Smith, our steward" Adam said. "Will you be joining us, Roger?" Douglas asked him. "Of course" he replied. "Well that's that settled then, we leave for England at eight tomorrow evening from Perth airport, don't worry our plane may be small, but it can easily be distinguished by the amount of gaffer tape that holds it together. Now if you gentleman will excuse me I shall bid you good night" Douglas said as he made to leave the restaurant, leaving behind three very confused men wondering how on earth MJN's only plane was air worthy.

Douglas did think about telling Martin and Arthur what had just happened, but as he reached their door he decided against it having heard the noises coming from the room, he made his way quickly back to his own room trying to think about anything other than the two of them doing that. However, this was easier said than done.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning Martin awoke to find himself to find he and Arthur had fallen asleep against one another in just their underwear. Hmm Martin thought there were definitely worse ways to wake up, he looked over at the digital clock that came with the room 7.30 it said, well Martin thought not wanting to get up too early, and with that he nestled his head back into Arthur's neck and fell back asleep.

A few hours later Martin woke up again, this time to the sound of Douglas rather loudly knocking on the door. "I have no desire to know what you two were up to last night, just cover yourselves up and let me in", came Douglas' voice. "Arthur wake up, Douglas is here" Martin said. "Oh, what time is it?" Arthur asked him. "Just gone ten" he answered as he pulled on his trousers, whilst Arthur repositioned the quilt to cover himself. "I'm not even going to ask" said Douglas as he stepped into the room. "Good morning to you as well Douglas" Martin said as he put on his t-shirt. "I just wanted to ask if you two will be joining me for breakfast, there's a few people I want you to meet" Douglas informed them. "Brilliant" said Arthur, from his place on the bed. "Yeah of course, just give us ten minutes" Martin said.

Twenty minutes later Martin and Arthur entered the hotel's dining area to find Douglas laughing with three men they didn't recognise. "There you two are" Douglas said "I was beginning to worry. Now then let me introduce you all…Martin, Arthur this is Adam from my days at Air England" Douglas said as they shook hands. "This is Ben, Adam's current first officer" Douglas continued. "And this is Roger, their steward" he finished as Martin and Arthur finished shaking hands with the three men.

"Right now that we have the pleasantries over and done with, I'll fill these two in on our little plan" Douglas said cheerily. Oh heavens, this can't be good Martin thought, wondering just how illegal this little idea of Douglas' was, who clearly noticed the look of worry on Martin's face. "Nothing like that Martin" Douglas said, Martin in turn gave him a look of would you like to expand on that. This time it was Adam who spoke. "Well, Martin, was it?" he asked, Martin gave him a nod. "Douglas and I ran into each other last night, and had a bit of a catch up over our adventures with small charter airlines, however, ours went into administration, and they can't afford to fly us back". Adam explained, at which point Douglas continued "Yes, and seeing as though it's not really possible for you to fly one handed Martin. Adam, Ben and I will be sharing the flying, whilst Roger does the stewarding, and the two of you can relax in the back" Douglas explained. Martin thought this over for a few minutes before deciding to accept the offer "That would be great, thank you" he said "Although I don't know how much Douglas has told you about Gerti, but if I were you I'd let him do the take-off and landings, she is rather the plane that cried wolf" he informed them. This earned him so very confused not to mention scared looks. Oh well Martin thought they'll soon see what we mean.

The six of them arrived at the airport at half six having spent the day swapping stories about their various incidents with MJN and DAP (which stood for Davidson and Powell Air), with Douglas wishing he had bought his camera to document the looks on the faces of Adam, Ben and Roger, who were a little sceptical over the whole Douz misunderstanding as they like to call it.

"Dear Lord…you weren't kidding" said Adam taking in the sight of Gerti, which they had left in the smallest hanger. "Are you sure it's safe?" Ben said as he got a full look at the aircraft. "Oh yes perfectly so" said Douglas. However, this did little to reassure the three men. "Um Douglas…" knowing what he was going to say Douglas cut him off "Don't worry I'll take the landings and take offs" he said as he gave each of the two pilots a small slap on the back. "Well if anything, it's something to tell the grandkids later on in life" said Adam.

At eight o'clock Adam, Ben and Douglas sat in the flight deck preparing for take-off, and seeing as though Douglas was the only one who had experience flying Gerti he took the first shift in the captain's seat. Just as they were about to taxi down the runway, the ground proximity warning light came on. "Not again" Douglas said as he turned it off, earning himself a couple of confused looks in the process. "When you say not again, what exactly do you mean?" Ben asked him. "Like I said Gerti is the plane that cries wolf" Douglas answered. "Now then…" he said turning on the intercom "Gerti would like to inform us that we are dangerously close to the ground, don't worry I will soon have us up and away from this dangerous, dangerous ground" he announced.

After four hours and a rather uneventful take off in MJN's books Adam and Ben had taken control, "Star-board wing anti icing system malfunction" Ben announced. "Ok, no specific procedure. We'll have to request a diversion" Adam instructed, reaching for the radio. "Hold your horses chaps" Douglas said as he reached for the intercom ignoring the two confused stricken pilots "Roger, could you send Martin and Arthur up here please, but ask them to look out of the window first" he said. "Yeah sure thing" came the reply. A few minutes later Arthur and Martin entered what had now become a rather crowded flight deck. "Now then, Martin, Arthur are both the wings still attached to the plane?" he asked. "Yes" they replied at the same time, Douglas found this slightly creepy, but continued. "There you go chaps, the wings are still on. We don't divert" he told them. "But the anti-icing…" Adam said worried. "Hmm anti-icing you say?" Martin asked Adam nodded. "Have you checked the warning light is not broken?" he asked the two pilots. "Why, no Martin we haven't, good thinking Captain" Douglas answered him, giving the light a tap as he did so. "Hmm there you go" Martin said as the light went off.

Warning lights continued to come on throughout their flight to Kazakhstan, eventually Ben and Adam came to understand what Douglas had meant about the aircraft learning to check the light before taking any other action. Half an hour before landing Adam and Douglas switched places a fifteen hour flight wasn't exactly the best for a first trip with MJN. They received a rather patronising ATC announcement from Aktobe, to which Douglas replied "Yes, of course tower. Thank you tower", noticing the looks on the faces he said "What can I say MJN and her magnificent men in their flying machine are legendry" as he landed on the very clearly specified runway.

When they had taxied off of the runway, and were making their way off of the plane Martin and Arthur approached Douglas, holding hands. "Um so Douglas, how many times?" the captain asked him. "How many times, what, Martin?" he asked. "Oh how many times did the warning lights go off?" he elaborated. "Oh, only seven" Douglas answered. "Only seven he says, only" came the voice of a very stressed Ben. Martin, however looked pleased with the news "Looks like I owe you dinner, Martin" said Arthur. Douglas couldn't help, but laugh Martin had actually won a bet, this was one for the diary.

Three hours later they were back up in the air, having agreed to let Adam, Ben and Roger get off first knowing that Carolyn would be waiting for them at the airfield, luckily she hadn't called yet, but if she did Martin and Arthur would go up to the flight deck, for the time being though the two of them sat together swapping stories about their childhoods and found that they both had similar experiences with their dads, although unlike Carolyn, Martin's mum wasn't brave enough to stand up to his dad. Roger bought them some sandwiches as soon as it was safe to do so. They ate their share in comfortable silence, after they finished Arthur put his head back on Martin's shoulder. "Arthur?" Martin said looking down at the other man. "What, are we going to say to your mum?" he asked him, he hadn't often found himself in any sort of relationship, so he was rather unsure what to do. "The truth, well not the whole truth, I don't tell my mum everything you know" Arthur replied as he made to kiss Martin, who gladly accepted.

A few hours later they came to a halt at their stand at Fitton Air Field. As suggested Adam, Ben and Roger got off the plane, Douglas looked at his watch and right on cue "Who the hell are you three?" Carolyn asked the now terrified trio, Douglas gave the signal and the three of them got off the plane with Douglas leading the way "I should have known" Carolyn said as she saw Douglas. "Douglas how many times do I have to tell you, not to pick up hitchhickers?" she asked him angrily. "This is the fi…" however, he was cut off mid retort by Carolyn noticing Martin and Arthur who had come to stand next to Douglas, hand in hand. "Ah Carolyn there's something we need to tell you" Martin said with more confidence then he thought he had. "I think I get the idea, but please spare me the details" she told them. "Now then Douglas do you have something you would like to explain to me" she told him rather then asking. "Of course, Carolyn this is Adam from my days at Air England and his current first officer and steward Ben and Roger" Douglas informed her as the three men introduced themselves. "That's all well and good but that doesn't really explain why they're with you" Carolyn said. At that point Adam filled her in on their airline going into administration and leaving them stranded in Australia, however, he left out the part about Ben and him having been the ones flying the plane with Douglas.

"Now then Martin, Arthur shall we?" Douglas asked. The pair gave a nod and Douglas started them off "Martin…" at which point Arthur continued "…punched…"… "Gordon" finished Martin. At first Carolyn looked as though she might have feinted, however, she regained her composure "Really, I didn't think you had it in you Martin" she said, laughing as she picture Martin punching her ex-husband. "No neither did I" he replied. "Yes it was quite the sight" Douglas told her. "It was brilliant, Martin" said Arthur as he kissed the captain, forgetting that there were other people there. "Are you two quite finished?" Douglas asked them "Oh definitely not" said Martin as the two of them made their way over to Arthur's car, smiling as they did so.


End file.
